ICE Brent came under significant pressure on Friday, trading down to US$85.50/bbl - the lowest level since January and settling almost 4.8% lower on the day. The surge higher in the USD has not been helpful to the oil market, while a raft of central banks tightening monetary policy dims the demand outlook. Despite the weakness in the flat price, the prompt time spread has held up fairly well in the last couple of days and strengthened to a backwardation of US$1.13/bbl. If the flat price weakness persists, we will need to keep a lookout for possible OPEC+ intervention. The group has made it clear in recent months ... (full story)